For a moment I thought my fantasies had come to life because Seth in his retro look was a sight to behold.
Seth wore a white button-up half-sleeved shirt over white pants with a red and white striped apron tied around his trim waist. His hair was gelled and combed with a side parting and pomade waves that could have women standing in line on his doorstep.
How long had he taken to pull off this retro hairstyle?
He looked like he’d walked out of the 60s or 70s movie. I had to control myself from lunging at him and demanding him to strip.
His gaze locked with mine as he did a quick once over, “Emily, what are you doing here?”
The others had lost their voices.
Luckily, I hadn’t lost mine yet, “I should be the one asking you that question. Weren’t you at hockey practice today?”
He stiffened; guilt swam in his warm green eyes. He quickly blinked it away, “Would you like to order something for dessert, Miss? How about you guys?” He scanned the other’s faces, completely ignoring my question.
Surely Sky knew about this. No wonder she was making excuses not to be here. I felt a little pang of hurt crawling inside me. He hadn’t told me about this part-time job. Did he think that I wouldn’t allow him to work here because I thought his duties were strictly confined in my home?
“I’ll take the apple pie.” I pointed at the picture.
“Great choice.” He said all professional-like.
“Chocolate mousse for me, please.” That was Sky.
“I’m good,” Indie said, looking confused as hell too.
“Apple pie and chocolate mousse.” He clicked into the device, “Coming right up.” Without another glance, he retreated into the kitchen leaving me to appreciate the way his ass looked so hot in those white pants.
“Did you know Seth worked here?” Indie asked me.
“I didn’t. He never told me.”
Some girlfriend I was if I didn’t even know about my boyfriend’s part-time jobs.
We looked at Sky. She pushed her hair behind her ear, “He didn’t want you to know. He’s very desperate to make money and he knew you’d be worried if you knew he’d taken up another job.”
I sighed.
Boys.
“He’s pushing himself too hard so yes, I’m worried about him. He wakes up early in the morning, does the cooking for me, and then leaves for practice and now he’s doing another part-time job so I have no clue how he finds time to study. He’s hardly getting any sleep.”
I decided I wouldn’t look for him in the diner.
A few minutes later, a female server walked towards us, beaming as she placed the desserts on our table, “Here you go. Enjoy.”
The pie was amazing, the gooey texture melted into my mouth. Even though I decided I wouldn’t look for him, I followed his tall frame walking in and out of the kitchen, balancing the orders, and serving the patrons with that infectious smile on his gorgeous face.
A group of high school girls were sitting at a table and they laughed at whatever he’d said. One of the girls were being extra friendly, she openly flirted, and tried to look for excuses to subtly touch him and why not, I mean if the server looked like a younger version of freakin Marlon Brando or Elvis, I was surprised these girls weren’t a puddle on the floor. He could go to Hollywood, become a model and ten times as much.
This girl in the corner asked for extra tissues and when he began handing it to her, she ran her hand over his deliberately.
At this rate, I was chewing the metal fork out. No amount of pie was going to cheer me up. I remembered all those evenings; he would turn up late and say it was hockey practice.
He glanced at me, caught me staring, and tried to smile but I quickly looked away.
I get it. He was using his movie-star gorgeous looks to earn some extra money because he needed it. I wasn’t even mad, just pissed about the girls flocking around him.
Seth was walking temptation; he was charming and super friendly that girls had a hard time not feel attracted towards him so I could see why the business was booming here. The food was great but so was the server.
The girl named Dixie who’d served us earlier went up on her toes to whisper something into his ear, he smiled at her and then nodded. I watched them walk into the kitchen together.
I couldn’t sit back and watch any longer. It was instinct when I climbed to my feet, “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Behind me, I heard Indie ask Sky, “You think Seth will be dead tonight?”
“Possibly. Emily looks like she’s on a mission.”
I wasn’t allowed into the kitchen which left me standing near the counter awkwardly. I told the manager I wanted to speak with Seth and She asked if there was a problem.
Yes, there’s a major problem, madam, and that’s the fact that your excessively good-looking server is my boyfriend and has to openly flirt with girls in order to earn tips.
I was tempted to say that but quickly brushed it off. I told her the truth instead that we were dating and you could see the sparkle in her eyes. If only Seth could let me pay for the lawyer fees and the damages, he could then concentrate on his hockey practice and school and of course, me.
The manager went through the door that read ‘Only staff allowed’
A minute later, Seth walked through the door.
“Hey…”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the diner. The girls from earlier were curiously staring out of the window so I decided to give them something to look at.
“Emily…I—”
I grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him forward to claim his lips in a super-hot kiss. I could tell he was taken aback by the gesture. I rested my hand over his chest which I slid into his hair, running my fingers through the soft strands, making sure I didn’t spoil the work on his hairstyle. He kissed me hungrily, not caring about the show we were putting on for the peeping Toms. His tongue slid into my mouth, and his thick arms crushed me against him.
With a groan, he pulled away first. We were both breathless, and an ache had started to grow between my legs.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.” He said, brushing his lips slowly against mine, “Sky even texted to warn me that you guys were coming but I never checked my phone since we’re supposed to put them in the locker.”
“Aren’t you tired? You don’t even have a day off…”
“I don’t have that luxury.” He said, giving me a sad smile, “You reap what you sow, right? I put myself in this situation when I made the wrong decisions. I’ll have to work hard if I want a good life.”
“You know you could always ask me if you needed more money. I’ll give it to you because I have it. Lots of it.” I sighed, “I’m not trying to brag but it wouldn’t even cause a dent in my bank account. Dad doesn’t care what I spend my money on.”
He nodded, “I know, but I won’t do that. You’ve done enough.” He touched the necklace I was wearing, the one he’d given me with our names engraved on it, his fingers ran over the pendant. “It’s because of you that I keep pushing forward. I’m so glad you came into my life, Emily-Mae.”
I love you.
“I’m always here for you.”
“No matter what?” He asked me like he needed that confirmation.
“Yes, no matter what. Your fans are looking through the window.” I pointed out. “They are not going to be returning customers when they find out you have a girlfriend.”
He chuckled, “They will. No one can resist this killer smile.”
I punched him playfully. “Get back to work now.”
We went back inside together, he winked at me before walking back into the kitchen. I made my way towards my booth with envious looks getting thrown at me. I couldn’t wipe that stupid smile off my face as I sat down beside Sky.
There was a brownie that was served to us that none of us had ordered. The server Dixie from earlier said it was a complimentary brownie from Seth for me. She laughed when she said that. I knew this was the surprise they were planning earlier.
My name was on the plate in chocolate sauce with hearts all around it.
“Aw, look at that. Isn’t that cute?” Indie prompted.
“I’m going to eat most of it, just so you guys know.” I was already full but you couldn’t blame me if I couldn’t resist something like this.
He was so sweet.
We’d demolished most of the brownie when I was momentarily distracted by a group of high school boys who milled into the diner, they were boisterous and loud, their jackets had the Eastwood High logo on them. They were about five of them, definitely on a sports team. The red-head met my eye and then his gaze swept towards my table. His brow arched up.
“Emily, I want to leave.” I heard Sky’s voice barely clear due to Steve Wonder’s music playing in the background.
“What?”
Her fingers dug into my palm and I realized something was bothering her about the boys.
“Hey, isn’t that Sawyer?” One of the boys asked and the rest of them stopped walking, looking at our table with an uncanny interest.
The boys circled our table like a pack of blood-thirsty hyenas. Only one blond guy stood behind them, looking anywhere but us.
“Fancy meeting you here, Sawyer. Look at you now,” The red head mocked, “All grown up with a nice rack. You sure worked hard for it, didn’t you?”
“You…You’re mi…mistaking me for someone else.” Sky stuttered.
“Sure.” He said, “whatever makes you happy. Are these your new friends?”
“Leave me alone!” she yelled at him, her voice bordering to a sob.
“Do they know how big of a fucking liar you are?”
The chatter around us softened, people were starting to notice something was wrong. Whoever these boys were, they had hurt Skylar. I hoped it wasn’t like I thought it was, but deep inside I knew it was bad.
Indie stood up, glaring down at the guy, he was a few inches taller. “Keep walking, okay?”
“Just go,” I added.
I rubbed her shoulders; she was close to tears and she wouldn’t look up. The blond guy who was standing at the back took a step forward, his hands were dug into his pockets.
“It’s nice to see you again, Sawyer. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
“It’s Skylar!” she corrected him.
“Skylar, right.” There was regret stamped on his face. “I’m so…sorry about…
“I don’t need your apology, Owen!”
He seemed disappointed and reluctantly started moving towards the table when I heard another guy from the group yelling.
The red head then spouted a slur which shocked me.
Something snapped inside of Skylar.
She was breathing heavily as she stood up, and pushed Indie out of her way, marching towards the group of boys with a knife clenched in her hand, anger coursing through her body.